''White Angel'' ( / ''Beli anđeo'') is a detail of one of the best known

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

Serbian culture Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the Serbian art, artistic, Serbian cuisine, culinary, Serbian literature, literary, Music of Serbia, musical, Politics of Serbia, political and Serb traditions, social elements that are representati ...

in the Mileševa monastery, ''Mironosice na Hristovom grobu'' (''Мироносице на Христовом гробу,'' the

Myrrhbearers In Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition the Myrrhbearers (; ; ; ; ) are the individuals mentioned in the New Testament who were directly involved in the burial or who discovered the empty tomb following the resurrection ...

at Christ's tomb), dated c. 1235 in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

during the reign of King Stephen Vladislav I of Serbia. Considered one of the most beautiful works of Serbian and European art from the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, this fresco is considered to be one of the great achievements in European painting. It depicts the arrival of the

myrrhbearers In Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition the Myrrhbearers (; ; ; ; ) are the individuals mentioned in the New Testament who were directly involved in the burial or who discovered the empty tomb following the resurrection ...

at the tomb of Christ on Sunday morning, after the events of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

. Sitting on the stone is the Angel of the Lord dressed in a white

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

, whose arm shows the place of Christ's resurrection, and his empty tomb.

Location and history

The fresco is located in the Mileševa Monastery near

Prijepolje Prijepolje ( sr-Cyrl, Пријепоље, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2022, the town has 11,928 inhabitants, while the municipality has 32,214 inhabitants. Etymology One possible mean ...

, on the southern wall of the church and the identity of its author is unknown. In the 16th century, the ''White Angel'' was over-painted with another fresco, and so was hidden until the 20th century when the fresco was restored.

Trivia

A picture of the ''White Angel'' of Mileševa was sent as a message in the first satellite broadcast signal from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

after the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, as a

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

. Later, the same signal, containing the White Angel, was transmitted to space in an attempt to communicate with

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

forms. However, this has been disputed, as no official NASA or other space agency sources have been found to confirm this claim.

References

External links

* {{13C-painting-stub 1230s paintings Angels in art Fresco paintings Works of unknown authorship Paintings in Serbia Paintings of female saints Myrrhbearers

Location and history

Trivia

See also

References

External links